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CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: In Their Own Words
Media conference comments from Antonio Garcia, Matt Bell ahead of 12 Hours
Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Antonio Garcia and Matt Bell met with members of the media Monday afternoon to discuss this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Garcia will pilot one of the two Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entries with Bell part of the lineup for AWA – GTD winner at the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the season.
ANTONIO GARICA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT GOING TO SEBRING?
“First of all, part of the season is that it’s almost my 20th 12 Hours. So that makes it easier to win four times! But I always love going back to Sebring. I have a lot of good memories from Sebring… good closing stints and fun racing all over the years in different cars and classes. I think Corvette has always been very competitive there and successful. The last two years, I think, we came close to winning. Especially last year we were leading quite a lot of laps and in the closing stages got mixed up in some incidents. Let’s see if we have a clean race this year. That’s key at Sebring especially at night when the sun goes down, everyone gets excited and at times the racing gets a little crazy.”
HOW DO YOU CONDITION YOURSELF FOR SEBRING?
“Sebring definitely is hard, and you need to be very prepared. Last year we had A/C problems from Hour Three, and it was very hard for us. You need to be as good as possible because anything can happen. There is no time to fix anything if it’s a big change or a big repair. Last year Dani (Juncadella) did two-and-a-half stints without A/C, and then we kind of cycled through just to minimize that. If it’s a hot one – and looking at the forecast it looks to be very hot – it will be hard for everyone… the car, the tires, us and for sure the crew.”
PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R IN YEAR TWO?
“We have another year of experience this year with this car. Last year even if the car felt pretty decent, we found a few other things over the course of the season and at Daytona. We didn’t get to test (at the sanctioned test) but the AWA guys were there and we have their data to see. That will help the whole Corvette development program. Some of our guys also have been going to the simulator. I hope we’ll have a really good pace for this race again and let’s see if we nailed the direction in which the car should go. Now with the new power curve and how we use that, I think it will be a challenge for us. It will be the first time we will run it at Sebring, which seems very particular with the bumps and everything. But I think we have a really good strategy and I hope everything runs smooth.”
WHAT DO YOU TELL YOURSELF TO TRY AND AVOID INCIDENTS IN THE NIGHT AT SEBRING?
“Last year I think we cycled twice to the back (during pit stops). By the way the GTD and GTD PRO progression worked last year, we cycled to the back of the group. That didn’t help in order to get back to the leading pack. At night on every restart If you are at the front, the chances that you’re going to get hit or get into a big mess is a lot less. I think that’s the biggest thing at Sebring. At night you need to be up front on every restart. If you’re able to be in the top three positions, you are way more safe. Now that GTD PRO and GTD are split (on restarts), I think it’s going to be better. At night you don’t know who is behind you; you just see lights. I know the GTD lights are yellow but it’s very difficult to know who was following you. Now that things are split, I think it will make things easier for both classes. We know we are going to be fighting our class on the restart and not get in the mix with (GTD) or them with us. So I think that was a good call, and at Daytona it was a big upgrade.”
REACTION TO THE MOBIL 1 LIVERY THAT PRATT MILLER PRESENTED.
“I think it’s pretty cool to have different liveries. It feels strange not to see a Corvette painted in yellow. In traffic I don’t know if people will spot who we are! But it is very cool to have this Mobil 1 new livery. I didn’t get to see the actual car it was related to in real life. But when I get to see it at the track, it will be very cool. Hopefully we can get it to Victory Lane because that’s even better – a special livery there with some photos looks even better.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
RACE OUTLOOK FOLLOWING THE WIN AT DAYTONA WITH CORVETTE.
“We’re still riding on Cloud Nine, I have to say, from a little over a month ago. It was a dream start to the season and a race that we all wanted to win for quite a long time, as most drivers do. We’re coming into this race with a lot of confidence. I know my way around Sebring a little bit now too, so it’s a race event that I love and a track that I love. As Antonio said, Corvettes have always seemed to go pretty well around Sebring. I’m feeling just as confident and coming into here with just as high hopes as I did for Daytona. We had a good test at the IMSA sanctioned test. We all feel pretty well prepared. The GTD field is pretty deep with talent so it’s going to be extremely competitive again but we are looking forward to taking everyone on.”
PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R IN YEAR TWO?
“Antonio has been a big part of the past development on the factory side. From the AWA side, there have been a lot of refinements going on and a lot of learning with the car for a customer team. We come into this race with a lot more knowledge than at any point last year. We put a lot of that into practice at Daytona and it seemed to go well. The good thing was that the performance of the car all last year seemed very strong and there were a few things to get on top of on the reliability front, which is a usual new car challenge. Everybody seems to have those under control now but you never quite know in racing. The most established car on the grid can always have an issue. Sebring is the hardest track in the world on any racecar. But we’ve taken some big steps. Sebring will test us but we think we’re going in the right direction. We’ve always got the support of the Pratt Miller and Corvette guys. We lean on the likes of Antonio, as well, if things aren’t going well and that worked out very well last year. We’ll be going at it the same this year again.”
LATE AT DAYTONA YOU HIT A SKID PLATE OFF ANOTHER CAR. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT INCIDENT?
“There were always some quite intense battles going on in GTD. There were always noises coming from the wheel well every now and then, but that one felt a little bigger than normal. As I came out of Turn Six… I think it was a lap or two before I managed to get past the 27. Heading toward the Bus Stop, the right-hand side of the cockpit started filling with smoke quite quickly. As a driver we have all experienced the smell of tire smoke or the smell of oil smoke or whatever. It didn’t smell like oil so that was an immediate checkbox that made me a bit more confident. I just radioed in ‘Smoke in the cockpit. Please check tire pressures’ because I was a little busy dealing with the competition around me. They came back and said no punctures showing up. I gave the wheel a little wiggle, it felt alright. I sent it into the Bus Stop and it still felt OK. At that point in the race it was do-or-die. We were 20 minutes to go and if it was going to go wrong, it is what it is. Just had to keep my foot in it and it cleaned itself up.
“It turned out that a wooden block, we think off a GTP car, had come off. The Aston in front of me ran over it and fired it up into the bonnet of our car. It got stuck in the wheel well and was rubbing on the tire. It took a couple of millimeters of rubber off and didn’t go deep enough to give us a puncture worry. Everyone has always told me in these big 24-hour races that there is that moment of luck that you need to get over the line. That was a close call and could have been race-ending. Thankfully it didn’t happen and behaved itself the last 20 minutes.”
THE 13 FROM DAYTONA HAS BEEN RETIRED. IS THIS ONE AT SEBRING BRAND NEW?
“Yes, it will be a new car. We had already planned to be running a new car to Le Mans, fortunately. So the team having a second car available to us was already in the works, and we managed to speed up the delivery of that and the prep of that in order to get it turned around for the IMSA test. So the AWA crew had a pretty long Daytona 24 Hours, a night or two to celebrate and then a lot of hard work to get the new car prepped for the IMSA test. So it has done some running. It’s not run in competition yet so this will be the car’s first race. When we jumped into the car it felt exactly the same as the previous one that we had. There’s always that little worry in the back of your mind – especially when you have a good result in a car – and the superstitious part of you doesn’t want to change the set of gloves that you’ve got. But we jumped in it, and it was like being in the original car. No differences whatsoever. Great consistency from the Pratt Miller and GM guys on the construction side of things in our experience so far. The concern is as low as it can be going into a race like Sebring. It’s the hardest race on a racecar in the world. Could it throw something up? Of course it could, but it could do that for anyone’s car. It was nice to retire the Season One car with such a big win. Hopefully we can start another bit of the team’s history with this new car.”
Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick
CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: In Their Own Words
Media conference comments from Antonio Garcia, Matt Bell ahead of 12 Hours
Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Antonio Garcia and Matt Bell met with members of the media Monday afternoon to discuss this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Garcia will pilot one of the two Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entries with Bell part of the lineup for AWA – GTD winner at the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the season.
ANTONIO GARICA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT GOING TO SEBRING?
“First of all, part of the season is that it’s almost my 20th 12 Hours. So that makes it easier to win four times! But I always love going back to Sebring. I have a lot of good memories from Sebring… good closing stints and fun racing all over the years in different cars and classes. I think Corvette has always been very competitive there and successful. The last two years, I think, we came close to winning. Especially last year we were leading quite a lot of laps and in the closing stages got mixed up in some incidents. Let’s see if we have a clean race this year. That’s key at Sebring especially at night when the sun goes down, everyone gets excited and at times the racing gets a little crazy.”
HOW DO YOU CONDITION YOURSELF FOR SEBRING?
“Sebring definitely is hard, and you need to be very prepared. Last year we had A/C problems from Hour Three, and it was very hard for us. You need to be as good as possible because anything can happen. There is no time to fix anything if it’s a big change or a big repair. Last year Dani (Juncadella) did two-and-a-half stints without A/C, and then we kind of cycled through just to minimize that. If it’s a hot one – and looking at the forecast it looks to be very hot – it will be hard for everyone… the car, the tires, us and for sure the crew.”
PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R IN YEAR TWO?
“We have another year of experience this year with this car. Last year even if the car felt pretty decent, we found a few other things over the course of the season and at Daytona. We didn’t get to test (at the sanctioned test) but the AWA guys were there and we have their data to see. That will help the whole Corvette development program. Some of our guys also have been going to the simulator. I hope we’ll have a really good pace for this race again and let’s see if we nailed the direction in which the car should go. Now with the new power curve and how we use that, I think it will be a challenge for us. It will be the first time we will run it at Sebring, which seems very particular with the bumps and everything. But I think we have a really good strategy and I hope everything runs smooth.”
WHAT DO YOU TELL YOURSELF TO TRY AND AVOID INCIDENTS IN THE NIGHT AT SEBRING?
“Last year I think we cycled twice to the back (during pit stops). By the way the GTD and GTD PRO progression worked last year, we cycled to the back of the group. That didn’t help in order to get back to the leading pack. At night on every restart If you are at the front, the chances that you’re going to get hit or get into a big mess is a lot less. I think that’s the biggest thing at Sebring. At night you need to be up front on every restart. If you’re able to be in the top three positions, you are way more safe. Now that GTD PRO and GTD are split (on restarts), I think it’s going to be better. At night you don’t know who is behind you; you just see lights. I know the GTD lights are yellow but it’s very difficult to know who was following you. Now that things are split, I think it will make things easier for both classes. We know we are going to be fighting our class on the restart and not get in the mix with (GTD) or them with us. So I think that was a good call, and at Daytona it was a big upgrade.”
REACTION TO THE MOBIL 1 LIVERY THAT PRATT MILLER PRESENTED.
“I think it’s pretty cool to have different liveries. It feels strange not to see a Corvette painted in yellow. In traffic I don’t know if people will spot who we are! But it is very cool to have this Mobil 1 new livery. I didn’t get to see the actual car it was related to in real life. But when I get to see it at the track, it will be very cool. Hopefully we can get it to Victory Lane because that’s even better – a special livery there with some photos looks even better.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R
RACE OUTLOOK FOLLOWING THE WIN AT DAYTONA WITH CORVETTE.
“We’re still riding on Cloud Nine, I have to say, from a little over a month ago. It was a dream start to the season and a race that we all wanted to win for quite a long time, as most drivers do. We’re coming into this race with a lot of confidence. I know my way around Sebring a little bit now too, so it’s a race event that I love and a track that I love. As Antonio said, Corvettes have always seemed to go pretty well around Sebring. I’m feeling just as confident and coming into here with just as high hopes as I did for Daytona. We had a good test at the IMSA sanctioned test. We all feel pretty well prepared. The GTD field is pretty deep with talent so it’s going to be extremely competitive again but we are looking forward to taking everyone on.”
PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R IN YEAR TWO?
“Antonio has been a big part of the past development on the factory side. From the AWA side, there have been a lot of refinements going on and a lot of learning with the car for a customer team. We come into this race with a lot more knowledge than at any point last year. We put a lot of that into practice at Daytona and it seemed to go well. The good thing was that the performance of the car all last year seemed very strong and there were a few things to get on top of on the reliability front, which is a usual new car challenge. Everybody seems to have those under control now but you never quite know in racing. The most established car on the grid can always have an issue. Sebring is the hardest track in the world on any racecar. But we’ve taken some big steps. Sebring will test us but we think we’re going in the right direction. We’ve always got the support of the Pratt Miller and Corvette guys. We lean on the likes of Antonio, as well, if things aren’t going well and that worked out very well last year. We’ll be going at it the same this year again.”
LATE AT DAYTONA YOU HIT A SKID PLATE OFF ANOTHER CAR. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT INCIDENT?
“There were always some quite intense battles going on in GTD. There were always noises coming from the wheel well every now and then, but that one felt a little bigger than normal. As I came out of Turn Six… I think it was a lap or two before I managed to get past the 27. Heading toward the Bus Stop, the right-hand side of the cockpit started filling with smoke quite quickly. As a driver we have all experienced the smell of tire smoke or the smell of oil smoke or whatever. It didn’t smell like oil so that was an immediate checkbox that made me a bit more confident. I just radioed in ‘Smoke in the cockpit. Please check tire pressures’ because I was a little busy dealing with the competition around me. They came back and said no punctures showing up. I gave the wheel a little wiggle, it felt alright. I sent it into the Bus Stop and it still felt OK. At that point in the race it was do-or-die. We were 20 minutes to go and if it was going to go wrong, it is what it is. Just had to keep my foot in it and it cleaned itself up.
“It turned out that a wooden block, we think off a GTP car, had come off. The Aston in front of me ran over it and fired it up into the bonnet of our car. It got stuck in the wheel well and was rubbing on the tire. It took a couple of millimeters of rubber off and didn’t go deep enough to give us a puncture worry. Everyone has always told me in these big 24-hour races that there is that moment of luck that you need to get over the line. That was a close call and could have been race-ending. Thankfully it didn’t happen and behaved itself the last 20 minutes.”
THE 13 FROM DAYTONA HAS BEEN RETIRED. IS THIS ONE AT SEBRING BRAND NEW?
“Yes, it will be a new car. We had already planned to be running a new car to Le Mans, fortunately. So the team having a second car available to us was already in the works, and we managed to speed up the delivery of that and the prep of that in order to get it turned around for the IMSA test. So the AWA crew had a pretty long Daytona 24 Hours, a night or two to celebrate and then a lot of hard work to get the new car prepped for the IMSA test. So it has done some running. It’s not run in competition yet so this will be the car’s first race. When we jumped into the car it felt exactly the same as the previous one that we had. There’s always that little worry in the back of your mind – especially when you have a good result in a car – and the superstitious part of you doesn’t want to change the set of gloves that you’ve got. But we jumped in it, and it was like being in the original car. No differences whatsoever. Great consistency from the Pratt Miller and GM guys on the construction side of things in our experience so far. The concern is as low as it can be going into a race like Sebring. It’s the hardest race on a racecar in the world. Could it throw something up? Of course it could, but it could do that for anyone’s car. It was nice to retire the Season One car with such a big win. Hopefully we can start another bit of the team’s history with this new car.”
Ryan Smith
Judy Kouba Dominick
